Although many Christians believe that Jesus Christ is equal with God, some scriptures in the Bible seem to suggest that Jesus is subordinate to God the Father, not equal with Him. We will consider several of these scriptures.
[Note: When we quote Scripture in this article, we use the wording in the New King James Version (NKJV) of the Bible, unless noted otherwise.]
1. In John 14:28b, Jesus Christ makes the following statement that God the Father is greater than Himself: “If you loved Me, you would rejoice because I said, ‘I am going to the Father,’ for My Father is greater than I.”
With regard to this scripture, Matthew Henry’s Commentary says,
His [i.e., Jesus Christ’s] state with his Father would be much more excellent and glorious than his present state; his returning to his Father . . . would be the advancing of him to a much higher condition than that which he was now in.
A footnote in the New International Version (NIV) Bible indicates that the second part of the passage reveals “the subordinate role Jesus accepted as a necessary part of the incarnation.”
Considered together, these two explanations infer that when Jesus Christ returned to God the Father after having fulfilled His mission to live a sinless life on Earth and die on the cross as the perfect sacrifice for the sins of everyone who accepts Him as their Savior. He would be equal with the Father, not subordinate to Him.
Philippians 2:6-7 supports this conclusion. This passage states that Jesus Christ “being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a servant, and coming in the likeness of men.” In other words, when in His supernatural state, Jesus regarded Himself as equal with God the Father, but as a human being, He subordinated Himself to God the Father.
A somewhat different perspective is provided by Norman Geisler, Ph.D., and Thomas Howe, M.A., in their book entitled When Critics Ask. On page 420 of the book, they explain John 14:28b, as follows:
The Father is greater than the Son by office, but not by nature, since both are God (see John 1:1; 8:58: 10:30). Just as an earthly father is equally human with, but holds a higher office than, his son, even so the Father and the Son in the trinity are equal in essence, but different in function. In like manner, we speak of the president of our country as being a greater man, not by virtue of hischaracter, but by virtue of his position. Therefore, Jesus cannot ever be said to say that He considered Himself anything less than God by nature.
In other words, Geisler and Howe seem to be saying that, in terms of who Jesus Christ is (i.e., His nature, essence, and character), He is equal with God the Father, but in terms of His role as the incarnate Son (i.e., His office, function, and position), Jesus was subordinate to God the Father. This is consistent with the explanations provided by the other sources we noted previously.
2 In John 17:3, Jesus Christ proclaims in His prayer to God the Father that God the Father is “the only true God,” which seems to infer that He (i.e., Jesus) is not God. This scripture says, “[T]his is eternal life, that they [i.e., humans] may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.”
In explaining this verse, Matthew Henry’s Commentary states,
God is here called the only true God, to distinguish him from the false gods of the heathen, which were counterfeit and pretenders, not from the person of the Son, of whom it is expressly said that he is the true God and eternal life (1 John 5:20). . . .
Similarly, Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Commentary says, “Eternal life consists of a growing knowledge of the only true God, as opposed to false gods.”
Both of these last two Bible commentaries indicate that the distinction Jesus Christ is making is not between God the Father and Himself, but rather between God the Father and false gods.
3. Subsequently in His prayer to God, Jesus Christ says in John 17:22-23: “[T]he glory which You gave Me I have given them [Jesus Christ’s inner circle of twelve disciples (or apostles)], that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one. . . .”
In this scripture, when Jesus Christ refers to being “one” with God the Father, He evidently means being united in purpose. Although the Twelve Disciples can be “one” with God the Father in this regard, Jesus Christ is “one” with God the Father in every regard.
4. John 20:17 raises a question as to whether or not Jesus Christ is equal with God the Father, since Jesus tells Mary Magdalene that God the Father is not only His father, but also His God. In this scripture, Jesus says, “Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.’”
In this regard, Matthew Henry’s Commentary states, “Christ’s Father is our Father; and, he partaking of the human nature, our God is his God.” In other words, Jesus Christ was acknowledging that in His human form, He is subservient to God the Father, as are all other humans.
5. Another scripture that seems to indicate that God the Father is superior to Jesus Christ is 1 Corinthians 11:3, in which Paul asserts, “I want you to know that the head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.”
With regard to this verse of scripture, the KJV Bible Commentary explains,
It is important here to note that the concept of headship does not connote qualitative or essential difference. It connotes a functional subordination. The prototype is seen in the persons of the Trinity. The Father and Christ are co-equal, yet the Son is answerable to the Father (cf. Jn 6:38–40 10:29–30; 14:9; I Cor 15:28; and Phil 2:6).
Like the explanations of the previously-mentioned focal scriptures, this explanation regarding 1 Corinthians 11:3 seems to indicate that it was only in His role as the incarnate Son that Jesus Christ was subordinate to God the Father.
6. In 1 Corinthians 15:28b, Paul says, “[T]he Son [i.e., Jesus Christ] Himself will also be subject to Him [i.e., God the Father] who put all things under Him [i.e., Jesus Christ], that God may be all in all.”
A footnote in the NIV Bible provides the following perspective regarding this scripture:
The Son will be made subject to the Father in the sense that administratively, after he subjects all things to his power, he will then turn it all over to God the Father, the administrative head. This is not to suggest that the Son is in any way inferior to the Father. . . . The subordination referred to is one of function. . . . The Father is supreme in the Trinity; the Son carries out the Father’s will. . . .
Likewise, in regard to the statement that the Son (i.e., Jesus Christ) will be subject to God the Father, the NIV Bible Commentary states,
This is a difficult expression and has often been misunderstood to suggest that the apostle subordinated the Son to the Father. However, two facts must be accounted for here. First, when Paul says that the Son is subject to the Father he is not speaking of the Son in terms of his essence, but in terms of his function, or ministry, as the incarnate Son. Second, the force of Paul’s statement is best understood dispensationally. At this present time the administration of the messianic kingdom is given to the Son (cf. Mt 28:18). However, at the conclusion of the messianic kingdom this function will be returned to the triune God that God may be all in all.
A more concise and, perhaps, easier to understand explanation of the meaning of 1 Corinthians 15:28b is provided by The Wycliffe Bible Commentary, which says, “The subjection . . . is not that of the Son as Son, but as the incarnate Son.” In other words, when Christ assumed the form of a human, He, like all other humans, was subject to God the Father. When Christ is in His supernatural state, He is equal with God the Father, not subject to Him.
7. Some people may think that regarding Jesus Christ as equal with God is a violation of the First of the Ten Commandments found in Exodus 20:3, which declares, “You shall have no other gods before Me.”
One of the reasons why regarding Jesus Christ as equal with God is not a violation of the First Commandment is that the New Testament of the Bible teaches that God has revealed Himself in three different persons or beings: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. In other words, Jesus Christ (the Son) is not another God; He is one of the three forms in which God manifests Himself. [For a more thorough discussion of the triune nature of God, click on “Do Christians Worship Three Gods?”]
Furthermore, Colossians 1:19 infers that Jesus Christ is equal with God. The NKJV Bible translation of this scripture states, “For it pleased the Father that in Him [i.e., Jesus Christ] all the fullness should dwell.” Likewise, the NIV Bible translation says, “For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him [i.e., Jesus Christ].” With regard to the same scripture, a footnote in the NIV Bible explains, “For Paul, ‘fullness’ meant the totality of God with all his powers and attributes.”
Colossians 2:9 provides a similar perspective. The NKJV Bible translation of this verse of scripture states, “For in Him [i.e., Jesus Christ] dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.” And, in reference to the same scripture, the NIV Bible translation says, “For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form.”
Both of these last two scriptures indicate that exactly the same powers and attributes that are possessed by God the Father are also possessed by Jesus Christ in His supernatural state.
Conclusion
On page 18 of his article entitled “Elohim: The Strong, Faithful One,” which appeared in the September – October 2020 issue of the publication Zion’s Fire, Marvin J. Rosenthal states,
There is functional distinction among the members of the Godhead, but this does not infringe on equality within the Godhead.
The Father planned redemption (Ephesians 1:4); the Son purchased redemption (Ephesians 1:7); the Holy Spirit processed redemption (Ephesians 1:13). Each played a part. Here was functional distinction without infringing on equality of position. For this reason the apostle Paul wrote concerning Jesus, “Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God” (Philippians 2:6). That is, Jesus did not think equality with God was a thing to be grasped, since He was inherently equal with God.
We believe that the preceding considerations support the position that in Jesus Christ’s human form, He was subordinate to God the Father, but in His supernatural state, Jesus Christ is equal with God the Father.